Rental Yields Being Driven Up

06 Jun 2013 - Rebecca De Britt from http://spionline.com.au/

 Families renting in Sydney have been driven to outer suburbs and regional areas due to high rents in the inner city, PRDnationwide research has shown.

Strong demand for family homes is driving up rental yields for smart investors in the Wyong and Port Stephens region, where the popularity of three-bedroom houses has risen steeply in the past two years.

PRDnationwide showed that Port Stephens has seen a 14 per cent increase in new bonds lodged with housing NSW as renters take advantage of affordability and lifestyle benefits for their families.

PRDnationwide research analyst Oded Reuveni-Etzioni said the price difference between Sydney and that of more affordable areas to the north and south of the city was significant, and families were starting to look elsewhere to escape highly priced, high-density living.

"The research shows that the top five regions for rental price growth in family homes are all outside metropolitan Sydney," he said.

"In the current climate, people are trying to live within their means and as a result there has been a drift away from inner-city living for families.

“The cityscape has changed with large scale one- and two-bedroom unit developments in Sydney catering for young professionals and the student population, as shown by an increase in residential tenancies in areas like Canada Bay, Marrickville and Ku-Ring-Gai," Mr Reuveni-Etzioni said.